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From His Heart - Week of December 6

"I love the LORD, because He hears my voice and my supplications. Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore, I shall call upon Him as long as I live." Psalm 116:1-2

I love the story about the little boy playing in the sandbox. There was a big rock in the sandbox that was inhibiting his fun. He tried to roll it out of the box, but it was too big and heavy for him to get it out. In frustration, he began to cry.

His dad witnessed the whole thing and said to his tearful son, “Why don’t you use all your strength?” The little boy responded through his sobs, “I did use all my strength, Daddy!” To which his daddy replied, “No you didn’t, because you didn’t ask me for help.”

PRAYER IS ASKING FOR HELP

How much are we like that little boy? How many times do we attempt to move the obstacles in our path without seeking first the Lord and calling on His name? The end result is always the same. We end up angry, frustrated, tearful and dejected over our inability to solve the problem.

God is waiting for you and me to look to Him. The door to the throne room is open to His children. No doubt it amazes God that so few Christians, relatively speaking, really invest the time and energy in earnest prayer. As David said, “His ear is inclined to us.” So, why do we not pray more frequently and more fervently than we do? Let me offer some reasons:

1. We don’t really believe God will answer. The truth is He promises to answer. “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know” (Jer. 33:3).

2. We don’t really believe God cares. The truth is He cares more than we can fathom. “Leave all your worries with Him, because he cares for you” (1 Pet. 5:7 GNB).

3. We don’t really believe it will make any difference. The truth is it makes all the difference in the world. “You do not have because you do not ask”(Jas. 4:2).

4. We are much more prideful than we care to admit. The prideful person does not ask for help. “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble (Jas. 4:6).

5. We are too preoccupied with lesser things and too lazy with important things. Prayer is hard work. It takes effort, and it is a struggle. The devil knows the power of God comes when we get on our knees, so he will fight tooth and nail to keep you from it. “Discipline yourselves for the purpose of godliness” (1 Tim. 4:7).

Let me encourage you as I encourage myself, make prayer (and Bible study) the cornerstone of your walk with Jesus. We desperately need His help, His grace and His guidance. He told us He is available to us … but we have to call. Will you join me in calling out to Him on a regular, consistent basis? The old adage is certainly true: No prayer, no power. Some prayer, some power. Great prayer, great power! Let’s determine together to be people of great prayer. If we will, God will supply great power.

P.S. Would you let us join you in prayer? Leave your prayer request on our PrayerWorks link and allow people from all over the world to pray for you. You can also receive an email alert when someone does pray for you ... and it is completely anonymous. Thanks for letting us be a blessing to you.

Jeff Schreve is Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church in Texarkana, Texas. He and his wife Debbie have been married for over 20 years and are blessed with three wonderful girls. Jeff began From His Heart Ministries, a radio and television ministry, in January of 2005. This ministry is completely listener/viewer supported. It continues only through the faithful and generous gifts of people like you. Pastor Jeff takes no salary from this ministry. All gifts go to further the broadcast.

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